The Best Online Casino Bonus Available in the UK 2024

Every top online casino attempts to draw new players with incentives. But in such a competitive market, how do you find the best casino bonuses? It’s as simple as just picking the largest amount available, right? Not exactly. It’s a little more complicated than that. Fortunately, I’ve put together this guide to the best online casino bonuses in the UK today. I’m going to show you how casino bonuses work, how to spot a good deal, and how to use your bonus once it is in your account.

Online casino bonuses come in all shapes and sizes, and with varying terms and conditions standing in the way of you and your winnings. It’s not as simple as receiving a bonus and cashing it out straight away. Aside from bonuses amounts – which are commonly calculated in pure currency or as a percentage of any deposits – it’s important to pay careful attention to wagering requirements. We’ll go into these requirements in detail a little later. Remember, if you’d rather just play without promos, you can always decline any bonus when you sign up or make a deposit.

Special Casino Bonus Offers for Selected Games

General bonuses typically apply to all casino games, but the best online casinos also promote individual games with regular specials and promotions. The extra bonuses are often tied to a single slot, table or small group of games. Although special bonuses are limited in terms of game choice, they often carry generous wager requirements and bonus amounts. More recently, I have seen online casinos running promotions for New York city breaks, Barbados beach holidays, 4K televisions and iPhone 7s.

I’ve put together this list of the best special offers available in the UK right now. It’s important to remember that ongoing special promotions can often be combined with regular bonuses. I recommend checking the promotions tab of your online casino regularly. Especially around holidays such as Christmas and Easter, where it’s common for new deals to be released. Have a look at the deals I’ve recommended, if any of the games are unfamiliar to you, check out my casino games page for a comprehensive guide.

Tips: How to Play with Your Casino Bonus

You may not be able to cash out your bonus straight away but there are still several ways you can use your extra funds. Bonuses not only give players the opportunity to play by using free coins, spins or other credits, but are also a good way to get a taste for higher stakes games. Let’s look at some sound bonus strategies.

Looking for Big Progressive Jackpots

As with any gamble that offers nice rewards, chasing huge jackpots comes with considerable risk. Big-name slots such as Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune earned their fame by paying out millions, so spinning your bonus here would help you enter in a very special league of possibilities.

• How Hunting Jackpots Works
• Play for the biggest jackpot available
• Bet the minimum amount per spin
• Low risk, decent rewards

Sure, the chances of striking a winning combination plus a jackpot are slim, but why not take your chances when you can do it with free spins, for example? I recommend finding the biggest progressive jackpot available on your chosen online casino and betting the minimum amount to give yourself the maximum number of spins. For more information on the biggest jackpots in online gaming, have a look at my progressive jackpots page.

Perfect Your Table Game Strategy For Free

Slots are not for everyone, and players interested in casino games such as roulette and blackjack can still take advantage of a free casino bonus. These classic games have been around for centuries, and over the years players have developed strategies for beating them. These strategies take time to master, and playing with a bonus is one of the best ways to hone your skills. I recommend that you familiarise yourself with successful strategies for blackjack before your play, if that’s your game of choice. For roulette players, the Martingale System is a good place to start.

• Use a Bonus to Perfect Your Strategy
• Practice real money play with less risk
• Optimal strategy maximises RTP
• Perfect for blackjack and roulette

Getting in some practice and perfecting your strategy is great, but there is another benefit of playing table games with your casino bonus. Every bet you make will be contributing to any wager requirement. As soon as the requirement is met you will be able to cash out the bonus for real. By sticking to tried and tested strategies, it is possible to minimize the house edge. Good blackjack players can expect very high RTP percentages over an extended period.

Run Auto Play on Slots with a High RTP

If you’re playing at an online casino that excludes table games from its wagering requirements and you’re not really into playing slots, there is still a way to make that bonus work for you. Thanks to auto play, you can fire up an online slot and just let it run. All winnings are automatically added to your bankroll and the option to limit the number of spins allows players to set it running for shorter intervals to avoid dropping too low on the budget. By choosing a slot with a very high return-to-player rate, you can hit wagering requirements and play with high stakes. For more information on RTP rates and how they work, check out my dedicated RTP page.

Some slots have RTP rates as high as 98% and almost always contribute 100% to any wager requirements on bonuses. Even if slots are not your thing, running auto play whilst you do something else is one of the quickest ways to meet the wagering requirements.

The Truth About Casino Bonus Codes

Bonus codes are not as common as they were a few years ago, when online casino bonuses were rarer. Today, most of the big operators use an opt-in/out system. This has made things much easier for the player. It’s worth keeping a close eye on promotions pages to see what’s currently on offer. I personally opt in to everything. Even if I don’t end up taking advantage of the deal, there’s no harm in keeping your options open.

There are a couple of operators that still require users to manually enter a code to qualify for a bonus. This is usually done during the sign-up process or whilst making a first deposit. Affiliates may also offer bonus codes that you cannot find on the operator’s own website from time to time too. I’ve put together the following list of the best bonus codes in online casino gaming today.

Remember that codes are mostly used in conjunction with regular promotions. Don’t forget to visit the promotion page to also opt in to the latest deals.

Declining a Casino Bonus: Why would you do it?

It may seem crazy to turn down an attractive bonus, but the truth is there are legitimate reasons why you might want to refuse or opt out of a welcome or first deposit bonus at an online casino. As with everything, the devil is in the details. All casino bonuses are subject to wagering requirements. The numbers vary from casino to casino but the requirement is always there. If these terms and conditions extend to money deposited as well as the bonus, I would recommend declining the deal. If you make a deposit of £100 and receive a 100% match bonus straight away, you do not want to be tied down by restrictions when it comes to withdrawing your winnings.

Who Benefits Most from Bonuses, Players or Operators?

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, as they say. Online casinos use bonuses and free spins to entice new players to their sites. Freebies also serve to keep existing customers playing, trying new games and services and enjoying the product. However, a competitive market is always good for the consumer. The more online casinos compete for players, the more generous the bonuses become – with the race to the top becoming even more competitive as new online casinos crop up on the scene. Overly strict requirements will turn players off, whilst very lenient requirements lead to players making too much free bets. The best casinos get the balance right. If you’re interested in receiving a bonus without depositing any money whatsoever, look at my no-deposit bonus page.

Wagering Requirements Explained

Wagering requirements are everything in this game. You will want to check the wagering requirements on any bonus before accepting it. The details can be found in the terms and conditions. Let’s look at an example to demonstrate how a typical wager requirement works. Imagine you earn a bonus of £100, and after checking the small print you see that it’s subject to a 35-time wagering requirement. This means you must stake a total of £3,500 in real money to qualify for a cash-out. The requirement would usually apply to the original bonus of £100, and all winnings acquired from wagering it. It sounds like a lot, but the house edge can be a little as 1% in games that contribute. 

The other thing to remember when looking at wagering requirements is the weight of contribution each game carries. Not all casino games are equal when it comes to wagering requirements. Slots almost always count 100% towards the conditions, but games with a small house edge such as roulette and blackjack will typically contribute a much lower percentage. For some bonuses, even-money bets like black or red on a roulette table, will be excluded completely. These rules are in place to protect the casinos from players exploiting the bonus system. If you’re looking to only play one type of casino game – maybe you are a blackjack specialist – check the weight of your chosen game before you accept a bonus. It may be worth declining it if your preferred game is excluded.

How to Decline a Bonus Offer

If you have decided not to receive any bonus funds and would like to decline an offer there are several ways you can do it. The simplest is to use the opt out button when signing up or making a deposit. Many online casinos now make this a quick and painless transaction. You may also receive a confirmation email asking you to confirm a bonus. In this case, simply don’t click the link to decline the bonus offer.

It’s rare that an operator requires customers to make a call or send an email to decline but it’s not unheard of. If you’re looking for a reliable operator to register with, my list of the best online casinos in the UK is a good place to start.

In most cases, bonus funds will automatically be credited to your account balance as soon as you qualify for a promotion. If you are unsure about accepting an online casino bonus, always read the terms and conditions. If in doubt, my advice is to contact the operator support. Most good online casinos have a live chat feature and can offer quick advice on what to do if you’re looking to opt out, or have made a mistake.